/ ˈtʃɪəfl; NAmE ˈtʃɪrfl/ adjective
1.
happy, and showing it by the way that you behave :
You're not your usual cheerful self today.
a cheerful, hard-working employee
a cheerful smile / voice
2.
giving you a feeling of happiness :
a bright, cheerful restaurant
walls painted in cheerful (= light and bright) colours
a chatty, cheerful letter
► cheer·ful·ly / -fəli; NAmE / adverb :
to laugh / nod / whistle cheerfully
I could cheerfully have killed him when he said that (= I would have liked to) .
She cheerfully admitted that she had no experience at all (= she wasn't afraid to do so) .
► cheer·ful·ness noun [ U ]
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SYNONYMS
cheerful
bright ♦ cheery ♦ jolly ♦ merry ♦ in a good mood
All these words describe people who feel happy and show this in their behaviour.
cheerful
happy and showing it in your behaviour or expression:
a cheerful, hard-working employee
bright
(of a person or their expression) cheerful and lively:
He felt bright and cheerful and full of energy.
cheerful or bright?
When describing people, bright is used in the phrase bright and cheerful or after the verbs be / feel :
I was not feeling very bright that morning.
You can say a cheerful boy / girl but a bright boy / girl is intelligent, not cheerful.
cheery
( informal ) (of a person or their manner) cheerful:
The telephonist at the other end was cheery and casual.
jolly
( rather informal ) (of a person or their manner) cheerful:
The manager was fat and jolly.
merry
( literary ) (of a person or their manner) cheerful:
A merry crowd of villagers watched the proceedings.
cheery, jolly or merry?
All these words describe sb's manner, appearance or behaviour more than their inner feelings. Jolly and merry can sound slightly old-fashioned. Jolly people are often large and fat; cheery people can be any shape or size.
in a good mood
(of a person) feeling happy so that you behave well to other people, usually because sth good has happened to you:
He was not in a good mood that day.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to be cheerful / bright / cheery / jolly / merry / in a good mood
to sound cheerful / bright / cheery
to feel cheerful / bright
a cheerful / cheery / jolly / merry person
in a cheerful / bright / cheery / jolly / merry mood
very cheerful / bright / cheery / jolly / merry